


Prophecy

by kusarihime



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Black Whale, Black Whale Arc, Dark Continent Arc, KuroKuraWeek2016, M/M, Panic, failure - Freeform, present, prompts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-07 03:26:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8781273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kusarihime/pseuds/kusarihime
Summary: Kuroro offered a truce plus a Lovely Ghost Writing prophecy to Kurapika. Entry for KuroKura Week 2016 for prompts: Panic, Present and Failure.





	1. Panic

**Author's Note:**

> Err... *clears throat* this is my first time ever to join the KuroKura week on Tumblr! Uhm, I only have a very limited time to work on this and I'm honestly nervous (I don't even know what on earth I was writing ) buuuut here you are! This is a multi-chaptered fic I made for three consecutive prompts which are Panic, Present and Failure. I don't know if I broke a rule by creating this kind of format but I did my best. I hope you enjoy and comments and kudos are much appreciated!
> 
> Beta: None.

It was taking Kurapika tremendous amount of willpower and self-control to stop himself from pouncing on Kuroro Lucifer now sitting across him to wipe that smug smirk off of his face and punch him until he bled to death.

Okay, maybe the vibes he gave off as he sipped on his coffee so calmly like this was just one sunny morning was another point to take into account. For one: this Kuroro wasn't like that man Kurapika captured months ago, beat to pulp and left stranded helplessly in the middle of nowhere. Twice stronger, more menacing, more confident and if anything, more arrogant. This version of Kuroro Lucifer was far more intimidating, and Kurapika's guts were telling him he shouldn't jump the gun and wreak havoc here.

The place had to be taken into consideration as well. They were in the dining lounge of the VIP decks of Black Whale. There were people around, quite a lot of them, with names and titles amongst the society. One wrong move and it would cost him his post as one of the legit bodyguards of one of the Kakin princes. In fact there were a number of factors that preventing him from letting his anger get into his head more than it already had.

He was having his short coffee break in the lounge when this bastard casually approached his table and asked for the vacant seat. He almost lost it there and then upon seeing the distinct dark eyes and hair with a bandage around his forehead covering a cross-shaped tattoo on it. But when he was about to get on his feet, Lucifer spoke with his deep and brusque voice, eyes sharp and warning, aura ferocious and roiling about, _killing_ intent directed right into him that had Kurapika frozen on the spot, instinctively wary and disbelieving.

_Oh, god. This couldn't be._

The Judgment Chain had been lifted…

"Stay still. Sit back and let's talk, if you please," the unnervingly good manners and the smile plastered on his face contrasted the bloodlust he was shooting exclusively to him. Kurapika grew more unsettled but he sensed the eyes around the lounge that began to turn towards their direction, likely because of his sudden movement or they were sensing Kuroro's oozing dark aura.

He sat back down his chair, eyes not leaving Lucifer's that were looking back at him. Kurapika mustered all the discretion he could sap out of himself and breathed in, deep but not visible, to calm himself down.

Question started to flood his mind once he believed he could think straight. How come Lucifer had the chain lifted and he didn't know? What on earth was he doing here? And why the hell did he become so much stronger than he was before?

Silence settled between them as they regarded each other contemplative looks. Kuroro beckoned the waiter and made his order while Kurapika studied him from head to foot with glaring eyes that threatened to shift into scarlet any moment by now. Kuroro spared him a glance that told him that his reactions amused him with a _'you really hate me, don't you'_ mocking narrowing of his eyes.

The bastard was making fun out of his temper and Kurapika couldn't do anything about it. His sheer existence brought raging wildfire of wrath enough to burn hell to crisp, and that bled on his entire expression. But he had to keep it cool because he couldn't afford to lose it here; not now that he had gone this far, with his opponent twice or even thrice much stronger than him sitting so casually across him. Thanks to growing up and becoming a young boss and a leader to his fellow bodyguards, he learned how to manage his anger and keep his mind in check else he would have chocked Kuroro with his nen chain.

Lucifer's coffee arrived shortly, and that was when Kurapika decided to break the ice.

"What do you want?" His voice was flat yet edgy.

"Relax, boy. I mean no harm," he shot him a piercing stare that sent chills down Kurapika's spine and _shit,_ he really had gone into a whole new level. "There's no need for hostility. I just want to talk, really."

"Really? Your nen says otherwise. Don't waste my time. Do you want to fight me and finish this once and for all? We have an unfinished business after all, but I'm afraid we're not in a suitable place. We can—"

"Like what I keep saying, I mean no harm," Kuroro smiled at the apparent attempt of the blond to pull him out of the lounge; despite turning into a ball of pure loathing, was still mindful of having innocent casualties of his blazing fire. "In fact, I have a good offer for you. Say, how does a truce sound?"

"Truce?" Kurapika enunciated the word with the coldest voice possible.

"Yes. A ceasefire you can say, from both sides."

"Okay," Kurapika wasn't buying it but he played along. "And why should I agree with this truce you are offering me?"

"Because Genei Ryodan is busy with work as much as you are, Mr. Newly Appointed Zodiac Member."

Kurapika was alarmed but not surprised. He didn't even bother wondering how the bastard knew that. "You must be mistaken, bastard. Chasing after you is a part of my work as a Zodiac and a Hunter."

"But not as important as protecting a Kakin prince and keeping Beyond Netero from breaking free once the ship reached the Dark Continent as of the moment. Moreover, you have Tserriednich to deal with. There are so many on your plate and you can't possibly chew them all at once. So before you jump on any of us, I might as well wave the white flag temporarily and prevent any unnecessary fights."

"And what, of all things, made you think I'll accept the offer?"

Kuroro chuckled. "I know you won't concede that easily so of course I've prepared an ace or two up my sleeves for you. Let's start with the classic threatening. You know damn well that with one command, I can have your friends be held hostage again, right? Ah, I think I saw that friend of yours, Leorio, isn't it? I have asked one of my comrades to watch over him. Pretty weak, he can be easily outdone by any of us. _Yes_ ," upon seeing Kurapika's knuckles curling and eyes changing slightly to crimson, Kuroro smiled. "We are all on board. Secondly, I found that you are guarding the youngest and the weakest prince of the Kakin royalty. A baby girl and her mother. I wonder what it would be like if they get into danger due to your negligence since you're busy working on your _personal_ errands. I don't think that'll do any good. Lastly, Tserriednich. You are after him, right? Have you gotten any closer to him?" The silence Kurapika subconsciously ensued broke Kuroro's grin wider. "I bet you haven't. Well, let me tell you something: he's one of my targets, too."

"What—"

"As much as I want to get rid of you all for good, I judged that this is not the right time and place for it. We're going to an unexplored land with so much danger and if we'll see things technically, we're more or less on the same side on this expedition. I won't call it comradery because I know you'd rather die than to think of this that way. So instead of wasting our energy fighting a useless fight, why not preserve it for the upcoming battle on the continent? We all do want to go back to the mainland, safe and sound, after all. Once we're back, you can go all out again. Well in my opinion, whether we fight on the continent or in York Shin, the result will be just the same. I'll win, and you'll die. It's just about how soon or how late."

They both knew that Kuroro didn't say that out of conceit. It was true, and Kurapika understood it.

"But just like what I said, I won't waste my nen for that. So for the time being, why don't we just cool it off? Who knows, we can even work together to get Tserriednich: I'm sure he has something valuable with him when he boarded. Maybe that includes the eyes you are so badly looking for."

"Now that's being delusional," Kurapika tried to mask his infuriation at the suggestion with a sarcastic frown. "There's no way in hell I'll be working with you."

"Yeah right. If you say so. Okay, next is _bargaining_. I've figured you might be unfazed by my threats but I have here something that you likely will think very interesting."

"But nothing is as interesting as you dying while choking on that coffee you're drinking if you ask me. But I'll humor you while I'm at it. Convince me more, _Kuroro Lucifer_." Kurapika narrowed his eyes, tilting his head up a little.

"You know Ms. Neon Nostrad, do you?"

"I do. What about her?"

"Then you should be aware of her ability—"

"—which you stole from her. I know tidbits of your ability, thanks to Hisoka."

"Good, then," Kuroro then stuffed one hand inside his pocket, fishing out a folded piece of paper and a pen. He placed the items on the table and pushed it towards Kurapika. "I don't have to elaborate things anymore. Write down your full name, date of birth, and blood type."

"What the hell—" Kurapika was about to snarl when realization hit him. "—you are going to make a _prophecy_ for me?"

"Free of charge should you agree on my offer."

"No, thank you," Kurapika deadpanned, shoving the paper back to the man.

"Aw. Don't you want to know if you'll be any lucky to get closer to Tserriednich, if the prince you are in-charge with will get into the continent safely and if your refusal to cooperate will cause death to the ones you are close with within this ship? Come on, you should know that your boss used to rake in money with how accurate and reliable his daughter's prophecies were."

"Why do you want to make a prophecy for me to begin with anyway?"

"Because I think it's fun?"

"Not only delusional, you're also utterly nuts."

"I don't mind if I'm a certified one, being normal is boring anyway. So, what do you think? Do you want to know what lies ahead on your journey to the continent?" Kuroro gave him an amicable grin.

 _'What lies ahead on your journey to the continent,'_ now that had Kurapika thinking. Recollection of the past events on their first days in Black Whale played in his mind.

Swarming parasitic type nen monsters wielded by fourteen princes all over the VIP deck. Fellow bodyguards dropping dead and getting killed by another one who seemed oblivious of what he did. Mizaistom told him that the conditions on the lower decks were getting worse, well the same goes for the upper decks actually. Kurapika's team had gone weaker than it already was and he couldn't trust Woble's parasitic nen beast to be strong enough and cooperate to back him up and protect his employers. Heck, he couldn't even tell what it really was. He barely managed to take down Sairid which he was sure was manipulated by the nen beasts into killing his comrades. The abilities and defenses of these monsters were complex and unknown; he couldn't just take them easily. To think that they had to face these terrifying creatures and they had yet to arrive at the Dark Continent, Kurapika couldn't help but fret about what this journey's outcome would be.

As much as it was hard to accept, Lucifer had a point. At this rate, the possibility of all the passengers of the Black Whale getting in danger or worse, _killed_ by the other passenger on the lower decks and the nen beast on the higher floors was highly likely. And indeed, the situation sort of called for a truce.

In fact, it was somehow a relief in Kurapika's side that Kuroro offered it first. Should he have seen the guy first, he must have attacked him and they could have ended in a deadly fight. Kuroro must have thought of this thoroughly. Kurapika's guts were telling him too that there must be something else that was bothering the Genei Ryodan head, more than the dangers the expedition posed.

But in a bigger picture of things, Kuroro was right. He didn't have time for this. He couldn't deal with them now. It seemed he had no other choice as of the moment, anyway.

"… We need to set terms," he said sourly, flicking his eyes on the man and seeing the pathetic lit up of his expression. "Conditions and the extent of this truce."

"Of course. I've set three thus far. Feel free to ask more it you deem it's needed."

Kurapika crossed his arms on his chest, gesturing Kuroro to continue.

"So first, tell your friends not to attack and stalk on any of us should they see a member. The same goes for you. Leave us to our own device, and so would we. We'll act as complete strangers.

"Second, do not tell anybody that we are the Genei Ryodan, and that we are on board. Do not tip the Zodiacs and the other hunters about us. Well, I've figured that you guys have more than what you can handle to bother yourselves with small timers like us. Mind you, there are more dickheads down there on the lower decks so that _'I'm a Hunter and I have to catch you'_ card you're playing is considerably useless because strong men, whether they are good or bad, is an asset to this trip as long as they pose no harm to the other passengers. I'll tell my comrades to behave and avoid killing only if you do your parts well.

"Third, do not interfere with our operation. I know this part sounds impossible in your case so I'll make it detailed. You cannot apprehend us just because we are Ryodan, in other words, whatever we do, as long as you don't catch us stealing and killing with your eyes, you can't stop us. You cannot interfere. Not that we will mess up and get ourselves caught. But as a precaution since you tend to go ballistic with a simple sight of Spiders, I guess making things clear with you is needed. That is all. Do you have any objections?"

Kurapika threw him a dirty, studying look. He seemed to be processing what he heard while observing Kuroro's sincerity, discerning if he was being serious here through his beaming face. Seconds later, he heaved an impatient, discreet sigh.

"Not only stealing and killing; should we find you doing anything against the ship's rules: entering prohibited areas, hurting and harassing people, bringing out weapons and making a scene, creating rucks and destroying anything in the premises, we will arrest you and take proper action."

"Roger. We will act as clean and quiet as we can. Any other add-ons?"

Kurapika glared at him, pissed at his carefree demeanor. "We will not stalk on you but I'll alert the securities about the possibilities of some burglars that _might_ sneak to the upper decks so they can heighten their guards. I'll inform my friends about your presence so they can watch out. And again, once I catch you—any one of you—doing out of bounds actions, I will do everything to stop you. I'll make sure you'll get kicked out of the ship and I'll see to it personally. Or much better, I'll get rid of you for good before throwing you all out into the ocean."

"Death threat duly noted. So, as for the bonus," Kuroro pushed the pen and paper back to Kurapika. "Your full name, birthdate and blood type, if you please."

Was Kurapika really going to do this? He didn't know anymore. He peered down at the blank paper, pulling a straight face but deep inside, he was still indecisive. A big part of him didn't want to take the pen. It was telling him to decline the offer, leave and practice how to bottle up his anger for the sake of his friends and missions. He didn't want to get involved with this jerk in any way. There was a small part, however, that was curious of what kind of prophecy Kuroro would unfold for him. Thinking of the pros and cons of learning what was waiting ahead weighed on him. His fingers twitched, he could feel that small part growing bigger and winning over.

"If you're worrying about me making prophecy for you to know what your next actions would be and take advantage of it, let me tell you that one of the conditions to be fulfilled for me to make the prophecy is that the information must be written by the person himself, and I need to see your face either personally or on a photo. And really, I'm not interested in using such tactic. All in all, I can't, and _won't_ , make you another prophecy unless you ask for it yourself."

Kurapika lingered his fiery, suspicious eyes about him, seemingly not convinced. But there was curiosity lying beneath, and Kuroro could see it, clear as ice.

Kurapika must be showing a hint of interest on his face for complacency bled on Kuroro's features. Well _damn it_ , it was true anyway.

He wanted to know.

With a sigh, he uncrossed his arms and hurriedly picked the pen up and scribbled his personal information, all the while worrying if giving them to Kuroro could cause harm. He put the pen down and pushed the paper to Kuroro before his mind could change and reflexively rip the sheet apart.

"Nice penmanship," Kuroro commented as he perused his handwriting. Kurapika rolled his eyes away, leaning back on the chair and absently rested his tensed shoulders.

Kuroro had another sip of his coffee (this frisky mien of his was getting into Kurapika's nerves) before reaching for the pen and twirling it on his fingers. On his right hand appeared a book, the Skill Book as far as Kurapika knew, and he opened it on a page. "I don't get to show this ability off to everyone so, enjoy," he beamed before raising his left hand with the pen suspended in the air. Through _gyou_ , Kurapika saw as a green wisp of aura reeked out of his hand to form a wriggly semi-transparent little creature with its arm wrapped around Kuroro's hand.

Kuroro's eyes looked blank, as if he was dazed or possessed, and his face was wiped off of any emotion. His hand then lowered to the paper and he began scribbling continuously.

Kurapika tentatively watched him as he wrote, eyes bouncing from the pen, to the monster, to Kuroro's face, until he was done seconds later. The monster dissipated into thin air, Kuroro's eyes retained its conscious state, and he closed his Skill Book with a thud. It, too, disappeared from his hand.

Kuroro looked him straight into the eyes, face plastered with the same amused smile he was wearing seconds ago.

"Done," he folded the paper first before sliding it towards Kurapika, eyes still on his. Kurapika glared sharper at him and tilted his head a little. He took the paper.

Kuroro watched with enthusiasm the shift of Kurapika's expressions that he failed to conceal. Confusion to comprehension to repressed disbelief, his eyes filled of astonishment with every swipe of his piercing glower on the paper. Kuroro chose that moment to explain.

"The prophecies are in metaphor forms and usually composed of four to five quatrains, each verse representing a week of the current month. The first stanza tells something that already happened. It kind of works as a proof that the prophecy is true. Let me tell you that aside from knowing that you have become a Zodiac, that you are after Tserriednich and you're Prince Woble's bodyguard, I don't know anything about you anymore. I don't have the time to check on you all the time to prove that the prophecy is real, truth to tell. It's now up to you to believe me or not."

The confounded and doubtful looks on Kurapika's eyes was replaced with… the widening of his eyelids, furrowing of his brows and slight tightening of his grip on the paper. His eyes slid a little lower and there definitely was a paling of his face and ever so slightly hitching of his breath. Kurapika was trying to compose himself but it was too late; the change of his emotions didn't go unnoticed by Kuroro's keen observation. And what that keenness told him had more Kuroro more interested and intrigued with what Kurapika's prophecy unveiled.

The Kuruta was… _panicking_.

"I'll guess that the prophecy gave you some bad news with how shaken you look. And by the way, just to save your paranoia. I didn't look into your prophecy. I didn't read a single word so I can't use it against you. Think of it as me founding a small base of trust between us. I'm not interested to know your future, just so you know."

Kurapika's eyes froze then fluttered menacingly at Kuroro, telling him that he was not believing what he said last. Kuroro gave him the flattest look that implied that he was really telling the truth and he didn't care whether he believed him or not.

"I don't exactly know or understand what this crap of a prophecy means but I judge it's useless. All it contains is—"

"Hold it, I mean what I said. You are not obliged to tell me. Explaining what the prophecy says or warns is not a part of our bargain. Feel free to interpret it in any way you want. So, now that we've come into a temporary agreement, I guess I better leave so you can study that prophecy," Kuroro pulled out a bill from the inner pocket of his coat and placed it on the table. He got to his feet. "Though I vaguely wonder if I'm somehow mentioned in your prophecy." At that, Kuroro caught a quick flicker of surprise on Kurapika that hinted him that he guessed it right. "I hope _not_ to see you around. Have a good day."

With what was said and done, Kuroro spun to his heel and left with a little lilt of a charming smile on his face.


	2. Failure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo hello there! This is the second and third part for KuroKura Week prompts Present and Failure... with a hitch, however. You see, I got the order switched: the story called for me to use Failure first instead of Present. The rules at Tumblr didn't say I can't change the order of the prompts to use yet I feel I break broke some or something, but this is what I can only do and I hope this is fine. I did my best and please enjoy! As always, comments and kudos are much appreciated!
> 
> Beta: None.

Kurapika immediately called Linssen for a quick and thorough research about Kuroro Lucifer.

The secretary came with surprisingly a bunch of latest about the Ryodan head. It centered about a death match in Heaven's Arena with Lucifer as the Floor Master and Hisoka as his opponent, the puppeteering of hundreds of audiences and an explosion that claimed a lot of lives. Apparently, Lucifer showed off his abilities there and went all out against Hisoka. Hisoka was said to have died with his limbs cut but his corpse mysteriously disappeared. In addition to that, Lucifer seemed to have acquired a new skill set, _terrifying_ new skill set, that composed of being able to manipulate people, creating copies of victims, using these copies to attack and kill, creating nen-triggered bombs and using these abilities all at the same time. To one's eyes, he was a master. A nen genius. He could utilize different types of nen with deadly proficiency, defying the rules of the discipline. One more run over Linssen's report and Kurapika understood how much stronger Lucifer had grown and he bet it wouldn't be that easy to put him into _zetsu_ , his strongest ace against Ryodan, for the second time around.

Once again, he was at loss of Lucifer's motive.

Come to think of it; he could have killed him right there and then at the lounge to settle their score and avenge for those two members he killed. But he didn't for reasons that Kurapika could only guess.

 _Something_ must be happening to Genei Ryodan.

Hisoka said the Troupe always went in groups, and Kuroro was accompanied with at least one or two members. But Kuroro was alone back then: Kurapika surreptitiously searched the vicinity for any indication that Kuroro brought some back up, and found no one. If Kuroro was that serious about intimidating him then he should have brought his finest members to tell to his face that should he attacked, he wouldn't stand a chance. But no, either because he was confident enough that he could handle Kurapika alone or he was sincere about his truce.

Moreover, the prophecy…

Kurapika slipped his phone back to his blazer pocket and whipped out the small, folded sheet of paper from another. He flipped it open with a flick of his thumb.

' _Careful inference will mislead you on the way_

_It is not the dead end, but the road will be rough_

_The entourage will tear down to half_

_But amongst the hideous foes is a strong aid.'_

_'You are to sign a treaty with the devil_

_Sealed with a kiss and it will be a key_

_To the master's chamber only to find it empty_

_And its dweller will prove you guilty'_

_'The spear will be turned to your warded angel_

_The coats will not suffice, be aware_

_To ascertain victory, renew the contract_

_You will meet a companion who will keep you on track.'_

The metaphors were not vague to Kurapika. He instantly interpreted its first part, and just like Kuroro said, it referred to an event that had happened in the past; when he found out that his employer was the fourteenth prince, the weakest among the Kakin heirs. But he didn't turn his back and accepted the job, and used whatever means he could find by setting terms with Lady Oito. The third line was about the death of his fellow bodyguards from the prince's parasitic nen monsters attack. The fourth could be referring to Woble's nen beast.

The first line of the second stanza no doubt meant his agreed truce with Kuroro Lucifer. But what he couldn't, simply _couldn't_ , fathom was what the second one entailed.

 _Sealed with a kiss?_ What on earth could that mean?

The third line was more or less warning him. It was telling him that Genei Ryodan, particularly Kuroro, had something to do with it. That this man was about to bring in catastrophe which involved his target: the _dweller_ in the _master's chamber_ , Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou.

The first line on the third stanza mentioned Prince Woble, and it was another warning. She would be in danger, and the prophecy inferred that his protection, even the prince's own nen beast, were not enough. The third line was an advice, likely pertaining to his agreement with Lucifer. That extending the ceasefire would lead him to meet someone who would help him with his missions.

He had a (bad) gut feeling that it was referring to the Ryodan head himself.

All in all, the prophecy was telling him to get the fuck away from Kuroro Lucifer or else things would be an utter disaster.

But of course there was still a possibility that this prophecy might be a bogus, made to confuse him or maybe tampered or faked to get him into agreeing Kuroro's offer and abide to its terms.

Though he watched the entire process of clairvoyance and saw nothing wrong or out of place. There was a high chance that this was an authentic fortune-telling.

Well, whether it was real or not, it wouldn't hurt to just heed to it. He wanted nothing to do with Lucifer as of the moment anyway and their agreement was now effective so he had no any other choice but to let the banes of his existence strut around Black Whale.

But first off: avoid Kuroro Lucifer as much as possible, not only because of the prophecy's caution but because he couldn't trust himself with containing his rage whenever he set his eyes on the bastard.

For now, he should deal with this succession war, get close to Tserriednich and watch out for Saiyu's and Pariston's moves to free Beyond Netero.

Damn, he just wanted to get the eyes. He wanted _nothing_ of this predicament.

* * *

Another party was held for the VIP guests with all the Kakin princes present. Kurapika kept close to Lady Oito and Prince Woble, all the while wondering if all these princes were oblivious of the nen beasts rampage that happened (according to Senritsu and the others, none of their employers were aware of the beasts, therefore they were not nen-users. That left the other, higher ranking princes), most especially, Tserriednich. Speaking of, there Tserriednich was, sipping on his wine, talking to a woman.

He had heard rumors about this man, and a warning from Mizaistom, that there was something odd about this prince.

That was no news to him, given that most of the people he retrieved the eyes from were strange in their own way. Tserriednich just happened to be the most powerful among them, smartest and most sly if he could add. He would need much calculated plans to approach him, and that required more information about the target himself.

Tserriednich sure knew how to use his position to cover up his mischief, but Kurapika's nose was sharp enough. Missing women inside his owned premises, vast collection of arts and human body parts, megalomaniac and sociopathic tendencies. Just imagine if he was a nen-user and he became the next Kakin king. Damn, he should get the eyes from him before that happen just in case.

Tserriednich was just some tables away from where Kurapika stood, but Kurapika felt like he was still thousand miles away from his reach.

But a person he wanted to see last was sitting just a table away from Tserriednich. He was looking at the prince's way, hand cupping a glass of wine, before sliding his gaze away and towards Kurapika's direction.

Impeccable suit and tie, forehead wrapped with bandage, eyes dark and callous as ever. As their eyes met, Kuroro Lucifer quirked his lips up and lifted his wine glass as if inviting Kurapika for a toast.

Kurapika's mood soon darkened, mind full of hows and whys. How did the bastard found his way in despite the tight security of the lounge? Why was he here? Oh, damn, Kurapika was sure he was up to no good. He glared dagger at him; Kuroro shook it off and looked back at Tserriednich and his companion. The way he stared at Tserriednich's back implied that _yes_ , he was his target for the night.

_'I shouldn't involve myself in whatever this guy is about to do but heck; I can't just stand back and let you get into Tserriednich. There's no way I'm going to let you steal, let alone take the Kuruta eyes along. Tserriednich is my target, truce be damned.'_

Kurapika averted his eyes away but kept watching over Kuroro's moves through his peripheral vision. The man just sat there, behaving normally, enjoying his drink.

He busied himself instead of worrying and looked over his employers. Woble was quiet and calm and Lady Oito was pacifying her, face etched with tiredness and worry for her daughter, but still hanging in there.

They surely were having a hard time, and Lady Oito wanted nothing but to get away from here, away from the danger lurking about her baby's way. From the start, Oito expressed no interest in having Woble win the succession war, but Kurapika could see a tiny ray of hope behind her eyes. But perhaps it wasn't because of thirst for power: she just wanted to keep Woble safe.

There finally was a movement from Lucifer. He placed his glass on the table and got to his feet, marched towards the main entrance and left without looking back.

Tserriednich was still chatting with the lady then with a gesture of his hand, the woman smiled and started to walk, Tserriednich on her side. His guards followed suit and they disappeared at the entrance where Kuroro had gone.

"I think we should head back, Kurapika. My daughter is fast asleep and I'm tired myself," Lady Oito called for Kurapika, eyes a little hooded and hands tightening on the bundle in her arms. True enough, Woble was blissfully slumbering on her mother's warmth, free from worry and fear. If she saw Kurapika looking at Tserriednich, Kurapika wasn't sure.

"I understand. We will go as our turn to leave comes, please wait."

* * *

 

"Kurapika?" Lady Oito placed Woble on her cradle and mumbled softly.

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"I hope you don't mind but could you tell me how does Woble's beast look like?"

The question came so sudden that Kurapika paused for a moment and weighed for a decision if he should tell her how exactly the nen monsters that attacked them the other day looked like, and realized he hadn't even recognized what Prince Woble's nen beast was, the _strong aid_ that the prophecy deciphered.

"I am not certain as well," he truthfully said. "And I think it'll be much better if you would not know. Back then when the beasts attacked, our cabin was filled with all sorts of terrifying monsters—"

"But I really want to know," Oito cut him off. "I want to see so that I can protect the prince. I don't care if it'll scare me, but I'm admittedly dying to know these creatures, especially Woble's guardian that defends and protects her."

"I understand you, Your Highness. But unfortunately, unless you are a nen-user, you won't be able to see it. But let me assure you: we are not completely defenseless here. I'll admit that at first, I wasn't confident with our battle strength but since learning that Prince Woble had a guardian, I can tell that we do stand a chance."

"Kurapika…" Lady Oito trailed off, seemingly on the verge of tears.

"I promised to keep you safe with the best of my ability. As long as our terms and conditions are followed, I'll make sure to get you back to the mainland, safe and sound."

"… I will trust you, Kurapika. Thank you very much," even just a little, relief crossed the lady's face. Her eyes lit up then, lips thinning into a small smile. "I'm glad to know that the King had granted my daughter a guardian; a chance to fight amongst her much stronger brothers and sisters. Even just a bit, I feel that he still cared for my baby, that he hasn't abandoned us despite having more qualified heirs of his throne. Kurapika… you were looking at Prince Tserriednich earlier, aren't you?"

"… Yes," Kurapika knew it. He didn't deny.

"I see. And you wanted to follow him back then at the party, didn't you?"

"I did but it won't make much difference. I can't get close to him that easily."

"But you have a plan, I'm sure. I know you only for a short time but I can really that you are a smart and diligent person. I'm glad that you accepted our job offer, doing your best despite us being not your priority. And I think the best thing I can do for you in return is to allow you to go after the reason why you joined this fray in the first place."

"Your Highness…" Kurapika was surprised; Lady Oito was truly a compassionate and understanding person, it seemed.

"I allow you to have a two-hour break from your duty," the woman's face was placid despite her eyes still showing anxiety.

"But Your Highness, that is not necessary—"

"Even just a little, I know you want to make a move closer to Tserriednich. It's up to you whether you make a good use of the two-hour break or not. This is an order from Oito Hui Guo Rou,"

Kurapika stilled on that. The warm gleam on Oito's eyes bitterly reminded him of the eyes of his own mother when she was still alive. It instantly squashed his heart and it took him a while to remind himself that this wasn't the time for this.

"Go on, Kurapika. I will give you a call should anything happen, and I trust you will come to our aid as soon as you can."

He heaved a deep breath and smiled at her. "Understood, Your Highness. Thank you."

He made all the necessary calls and briefing with his co-workers with a strict note to phone him should anything unusual arose before setting off to the higher princes' cabins. The boundary was heavily guarded and Kurapika was skeptical to trespass the threshold. The guards shot warning glances at him and he wasn't even a meter away from the boundary.

He figured that this reckless attempt would cause no good—of course it would— and decided to turn around and just return to their cabin when he caught something on the corner of his eyes.

It took painstakingly amount of effort not to whip his chains out and lash it at Kuroro Lucifer who was leaning against a far corner of a corridor, one hand playing with what it looked like a key and bouncing it up and down on his palm. It cost him some more to calmly approach the man with his straightest face possible. Kuroro stopped whatever he was doing, stuffed the key inside his pocket, and straightened up, flashing an amicable quirk on his lips.

"I thought you're not going to turn up. I was waiting like for forever."

So he had been expecting him to follow? "And why are you waiting for me?"

"Because I know damn well you'll not allow me to nick stuffs inside Tserriednich's cabin and you're curious if he had a pair of your clan's eyes in there so why not go check it out together?"

Good lord, please lend him more patience to endure the next seconds he had to talk with this prick. "I don't remember making a schedule to go trespass a prince's place with you. You're wasting my time, and let me remind you that this is a prohibited area. If you don't leave, I'll inform the guards about your presence and warn them about your plan. That's part of our agreement, in case you forgot."

"Calm down, Kurapika. I do not plan to break in Tserriednich's cabin."

"Then what the hell are you doing here? Chilling out?" Kurapika sarcastically bit.

"Why would I trespass if I can get him invite us inside?"

That made Kurapika scoff . "And what plan do you have in mind to make him, exactly?"

"Hmm," Kuroro made a noncommittal sound in his throat. "I'm not a hundred percent positive if it will work but I guess it's worth a try. Also, it requires a very little of you cooperation."

"I'm out," Kurapika deadpanned.

"You haven't heard my plan yet."

"But I'm sure it's not a good plan so leave me out of it."

"Come on. All you have to do is to stay still and be silent as you can. I'll do the rest of the job. Okay?"

"No. I'm leaving and so will you or else I'll alert the guards."

"Tserriednich is only a just a meter away. He went somewhere with the woman and after doing what he wants with her, I saw him going back to the lounge alone. He'll be back to his room and it'd be some time before he goes out again. This chance won't come again easily anytime soon. Are you sure you want to let it pass?"

Kurapika glowered at Kuroro again, knuckles curling and flexing to stop himself from landing a punch in his face.

"What is your plan? If that will endanger me and my position then forget it. I'm telling you I won't infiltrate his place. I'm not a damn thief."

"And like what I said, we don't have to. Should this plan fail, we'll only end up being told off and tossed out of the lounge. Okay, if it'll assure you, I swear to protect you should anything happen. Fair enough?"

That crept Kurapika out, his skin was crawling. As if that would reassure him. "No, thanks. I don't need it."

"I can hear Tserriednich and his boys coming. Are you with me? Yes or no?"

Kurapika silently grimaced and groaned. The bastard still hadn't explained much and he couldn't fathom what he was about to do. This was a reckless move and he himself could feel Tserriednich and his guards inching closer. Damn.

"… What am I supposed to do again?" He hissed, heart beating rapidly against his chest.

Kuroro moved closer to him and mumbled. "Stay still. Don't move. Don't make a sound."

"I swear if this failed—"

The rest of Kurapika's sentence never came as to his horror and utter surprise, Kuroro snaked one arm around his waist and his free hand pinched at his chin, pressed his mouth open and crushed their lips together for an open mouthed kiss.

Absolute incredulity, disgust, and paralysis came crashing down Kurapika all at once. The swipe of Kuroro's tongue against his stopped his breathing. The wetness of their mouths and the disgusting mixing of their saliva wiped Kurapika's mind clean, and he just couldn't move. Kuroro even had the nerve to dart his tongue deeper and Kurapika wanted nothing but to kill this bastard a merciless death with his own hands by severing his head out of his body. He was flabbergasted enough that his eyes turned bright scarlet, wide and unblinking.

"Stop right there!" Came a loud bellow from behind Kuroro.

Kuroro did stop and pull away, face betraying nothing but eyes screaming amusement at the sight of his scarlet eyes. Kurapika finally understood Kuroro's motive but it was all too late when Kuroro turned to face the intruder with his hands up. He stepped to the side, revealing them a flustered Kuruta, crimson orbs gleaming bright and lips wet and half-opened.

Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou alongside his troupe, all stunned and stood frozen on their feet, had their eyes on Kurapika. Tserriednich looked like he had seen a mountain of gold, mouth opened and eyes bloodshot. They glinted predatorily at Kurapika and he seemed only a hair breadth away from pouncing on him.

The Ryodan head used him as a bait, and there was one and only thing in his mind now that came unintentionally vocal out of him.

"… _Crap_."


	3. Present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that I have posted two chapters so in case you jumped here, make sure you have read the first one ;)
> 
> Beta: None.

Kurapika had completely discerned what the second stanza of his prophecy entailed.

Not only it was pretty literal (wasn't the prophecy supposed to be in metaphor form?); the outcome of this situation was even made clear. The scheme Kuroro was about to pull would work: they would be able to get inside Tserriednich's cabin—his _chamber_ , and if it would go along the prophecy, they wouldn't find the treasures, the Kuruta eyes, inside.

And by the looks of it, Kuroro didn't know it.

So he really didn't look into his prophecy?

But it was now too late: he couldn't work on something to do damage control here. Tserriednich's bloodshot eyes studied Kurapika's feature from head to foot, each swipe of glance examined every inch of his body, and they lingered particularly at his face, on his eyes.

"Kurapika," Kuroro mouthed with his baritone voice. "Your eyes."

 _'You scumbag!'_ He eyed him viciously. Kuroro responded with a calm, discreet nod and eyes expressing assurance. The bastard was really going to do this.

And Kurapika figured he was fairly deep in this shit anyway so why not go all the way down? After all, he was curious of the prophecy's accuracy and this would prove it.

But before anything else, he had made a memo to kill Kuroro Lucifer later for the stolen kiss soon right after clearing this disaster the bastard got him into.

Kurapika did his best to calm down. He breathed in, closed his eyes, knowingly altered his eyes color, and languidly opened them, his gaze straight right into Tserriednich's mesmerized one. He brought his hands up in surrender, eyes not leaving the prince's.

"We are very sorry, sirs. Please spare us," Kuroro pleaded, voice low and apologetic.

"This is an out of bound area, how did you get this far of the boundary?" The guard questioned, his gun aimed towards Kuroro's head.

"We… snuck in when the guards weren't watching. And we believe this part of the boundary is still passable for the guests. We humbly beg for your pardon, we will leave as soon as—"

"Put the gun down, Friist." Tserriednich raised one hand and told his guard off. Kuroro swallowed the rest of his words. "Well, well. If it isn't a young, forbidden secret love affair." Kurapika visibly shuddered at that. So this was what Kuroro was getting at, huh?"

"We didn't mean to disturb you in any way, Your Highness. We are…" Kuroro purposely trailed off.

"… Just looking for a place to be alone so no one can see you getting it on. I can see that much."

Somebody please take Kurapika anywhere but here. He blushed not out of embarrassment but because of utter disgrace and disgust.

"Young man," Tserriednich regarded Kurapika a look. "I remember you. You are Prince Woble's bodyguard, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir," Kurapika bowed ever so curtly.

"This is a surprise. I never thought there was a survivor of the sacred Kuruta tribe."

"I am Kurapika, the head of the fourteenth Kakin prince's bodyguards and from the Hunter Association as well. I humbly apologize for whatever inconvenience my companion and I may have cause—"

"Don't sweat it, _Kurapika_ ," the way his name rolled off so casually on Tserriednich's tongue caused Kurapika's skin to crawl. "There's no need for the two of you to fret. This is such a petty incident and we can overlook it. In fact, I understand your situation. However, this place is still not the right one for you guys to just do your private business."

"We know," oh, Kuroro would pay so dearly later for making Kurapika play this rubbish game. "… Just that this little piece of crap doesn't know how to hold himself back."

"I already said sorry," Kuroro with a convincing petulant pout reasoned out.

"As if saying sorry will undo what happened."

"Oh come on, Kurapika. We're in this together."

Kurapika purposely half triggered his scarlet eyes. "For god's sake. Shut up."

"Okay, gentlemen. There is no need to blame each other—and you can now put your hands down. Like I said, I understand. You are young and you can't help it. I won't tell a soul about what I saw, rest assured my guards will bring the secret down their graves. Now, for the best part of the story; I'm willing to let you inside my cabin to continue where you left before we interrupted but for a small price of course, that is if you don't mind—"

Kurapika's poor little soul shattered into smithereens with his guts melting into a pathetic pool of sickening acid. That was how graphic he felt about Tserriednich's assumption of him and Kuroro having a romantic relationship.

"Really?" Kuroro beamed and pulled a fake suppressed excitement.

"You bastard. No."

"But he said he doesn't mind."

"And it comes with a price so still, no."

"Hey, I haven't told what the end of my bargain is, so let me finish if you will," there was a twitch of annoyance on Tserriednich's brow when Kuroro cut him off earlier. Both of them fell silent. "You see, I'm a fan of ancient stories. I'm fascinated with historical events, generally, and my favorites are stories of revolution, tragedy to be exact, that brought our generation to what it is now. I'll have to admit too that I think, one of the saddest parts of it is the annihilation of the Kuruta clan, who had been given the gifts of the Scarlet eyes. I want to know," he looked Kurapika in the eyes again, "what exactly happened that day when the tribe was wiped out, and how _you_ survived the massacre."

"You mean you want me to tell you how my tribesmen died in some culprits' hands and how their eyes were stolen from their corpses?" One more uncalculated word about his clan from this asshole and he swore he would bring him down, his guards and nen beast be damned.

"Yes," Tserriednich faked a sympathetic look of condolence, complete with a lowering of his head and softening of his eyes. He let a second or two to pass then his eyes lit up and looked back at Kurapika with what the Kuruta could interpret as… obscene fondness.

His sources told him that Prince Tserriednich had a number of strange hobbies, looking into the dark side of the history included, but for him to be outright interrogative about someone's dark past with maniacal interest without even caring about its sensitivity and its effects on the person involved was sure insensitive of him. The more he proved how uncaring sociopathic jerk he was. But as much as he wanted to beat him up and extract the eyes' whereabouts out of him, he had ridden along Kuroro's drama play too long to walk out. He had to see it through the end.

"It would be a pleasure to have a chat with you but I'm afraid I won't be able to entertain Your Highness tonight. Also, you might find this anti-climatic but I was not in Rukuso Province when the massacre happened. I was travelling outside our village."

"I see," disappointment was evident in Tserriednich's tone. The light furrowing of his brows seemed to mean he still had a question or two to ask. "But wait, if my memory serves me right, I remember that the massacre happened about five to six years ago, so we can assume that you are still underage when you left your province. As what the books told me, Kurutas were not allowed to leave the village until they reach the legal age. How did you manage? Did you sneak out and run away?"

"No. I left the village rightfully, consented by the villagers and my parents. I was given permission to go after passing a number of tests."

 _'Now that must be why there was a survivor,'_ Kuroro thought, interested to hear more. He dared not to raise any question and let Tserriednich do the talking.

"What did you do right after finding out the annihilation, then?" Kurapika was growing more and more irritated with this jerk sticking his nose into his personal matters. As if he would satisfy him with an answer.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I think that's none of your business anymore."

Kuroro mentally whistled. So he wasn't losing his cool solely on Genei Ryodan, huh? Alright, it was his time to shine. "I beg your pardon for his rudeness, Your Highness. Kurapika is sensitive when the subject of his clan is involved. Thank you so much for the offer, it is truly and honor but I suppose we have to decline. We have bothered you more than enough. If you'll excuse—"

"I apologize my being interrogative and lack of sensitivity knowing that my questions can bring bitter memories of your past. But please, be my guest for tonight. In return, I will forget that this incident ever happened. I won't ask anything about the Kuruta clan again, I assure you that. Just an hour or so, lend me your company."

Tserriednich was being persistent. Desperate. And Kuroro knew why. They were sort of birds of the same feather after all, bur Kuroro was certain they wouldn't suit to flock together. Kurapika seemed to sense what he had in mind, too.

Kuroro then learned something from his invitation: he wasn't a nen-user. He was underestimating him and the Kuruta (well, _kissing_ in public and in an unauthorized place at that was something idiotic to do so that couldn't be helped), and he wanted to know more about the two of them.

This must be some form of a test.

"I'm in if Kurapika doesn't mind," Kuroro expected the Kuruta to refuse right away, but agreeing might ensue suspicion. Let him struggle for a decision.

Tserriednich's cabin might be empty, but this chance of getting closer to him was what Kurapika was waiting for. Just a shake hand was enough, yet now he could go for a closer look that he could find a chink on his armor and even chuck him out of the succession war (one less foe to pose danger to his employers plus doing an entire nation a favor by preventing a psycho megalomaniac serial killer to reign as a the new king), so why not?

"I don't know how we could serve a company to join Your Highness tonight but I guess it would be extremely rude to refuse the earnest invitation for the second time: if it is not too much of a bother, it will be an honor to be invited by His Excellency," Kurapika tried hard not to choke on his own lies.

"See? He's only rankled when it's about his clan," Kuroro teased like he and Kurapika were the best of friends.

"Shut up," Kurapika bit back.

"And when I piss him off," Kuroro added with a happy grin.

Kurapika mentally scoffed at that. How true.

"To my private cabin, then. Shall we?" Tserriednich, Kurapika presumed, was buying the crap they made impromptu. He was getting a feeling too that he was annoyed at Kuroro's attitude (what was he playing at anyway, an immature idiot?). He swept an arm to a side like your most hospitable host of the house and started to walk ahead of them, leading the way, with his guards closely behind him, their eyes darting warily at them. Kuroro and Kurapika followed.

"Ah, Kurapika," Tserriednich turned to the back a little to spare Kurapika a swift glance. "I will bet that some magical beasts that are invisible to normal people's eyes paid Prince Woble's cabin a visit the other day."

Kurapika returned the gaze with his face straight. "Are you referring to the nen beasts, Sir?"

"Nen. That one. Yes."

"… Yes, Your Highness. How did you know?"

"Some passed by on my place too, according to my guards. They were dealt with accordingly, fortunately. I thought someone targeted me and tried to attack, but it seemed all the princes had their guests of their own to entertain that time. I also take it that this has something to do with the succession war," they reached the twin door of Tserriednich's room and two of his guards opened it. They stepped inside, and Tserriednich's continued talking. "You know about it too, don't you? Even your boyfriend must be informed."

Kurapika visibly flinched, his heart felt like it stopped altogether and the need to snarl in exasperation flared inside him.

Kuroro felt himself snicker upon seeing Kurapika's violent reaction. The boy seriously was poor in hiding his emotions. It was pretty hilarious.

"Kurapika is clammed up with work related issues but I indeed felt auras from all around the deck. So this journey is actually a succession fight between the Kakin heirs, I see."

"And you have to keep that a secret. Are we clear?" Kurapika spat in a nagging tone.

"Roger, sir," Kuroro agreed with a shrug. Nen beasts and succession war? Now _this_ was getting more and more interesting.

"Pardon the intrusion," they said in unison (Kurapika blinked in surprise while Kuroro's lips quirked a little up).

"Come in," Tserriednich walked further to the living room and led the two into a couch. "Is there anything you want? Coffee, tea?"

"We are fine, thank you." Kurapika sat with another beckon of Tserriednich's hand; the prince took the single couch across them. Kuroro was blatantly looking around like an ignorant fool before plopping down right next to him.

Kurapika almost hurled at Kuroro and pushed him away for how close they were: the bastard's leg was touching the side of his, and as if intruding to his personal space wasn't enough, the forsaken master thief even raised his arm up, dropped it down behind Kurapika's back, with his hand on his hipbone. Kuroro even had the nerves to tighten his hold and draw Kurapika even more impossibly closer to his body.

Kurapika was stiff, blood boiling in melting point yet face remaining stoic. Oh, he wanted to decapitate that warm hand pressing on his side. He convinced himself more not to give in to the urge and kept it cool despite the bastard's sudden need to brush him thumb on the fabric of his suit in apparent intention of riling him up instead of glaring at the man (and see his smug look again), he opted to look around and divert his attention (because he likely wouldn't make it through this if he let the fact that his archenemy was sitting this close to him and clinging of all things get into his head)

Thanks god that he wasn't blushing.

His eyes instantly fell on a bizarre oil panel painting hanging on the wall.

Kurapika was familiar with this painting. He had seen this image before… in a book, he remembered. He forget its title, however.

On the painting was a panorama of what Kurapika could interpret as a living hell.

Legions of skeletons were decimating a city, wreaking havoc and indiscriminatingly killing human beings on spree. The characters were drawn small yet detailed, and each of them captioned different meanings and symbols. Barren land with dark clouds thick with smokes from burning debris, corpses both naked and clothed were in the forefront of the image, all of them reflecting different kinds of people. Man, woman, children, commoners, cardinal, even a king.

A woman was singing, apparently had gone out of her mind. The dying king watched as his chest of gold was taken by a skeleton. Depiction of ancient methods of execution that humans had made themselves was present: the headsman, breaking wheel, and gallows.

Every human was dying a merciless death.

" _The Triumph of Death_ by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1560… or 62… if I'm not mistaken," Kuroro cited in brusque voice. He leaned against the couch, hand still on Kurapika's waist.

"Impressive, Mister…?" Tserriednich smiled.

"Kuroro," Kurapika snapped his eyes to Kuroro's way. Kuroro ignored the sudden movement and went on. "Kuroro Lucifer, Your Highness."

"Very well, you impressed me, Kuroro-san."

"The original had been displayed in a museum in Madrid, so I'll take that that is just a replica, no offense intended," Kurapika put in, not wanting Tserriednich to probe more about the bastard's identity (which was useless anyway for he surely would look into information about him later. Heck, why did he give his real name to begin with!?) because that would blow their act. He couldn't afford that as of now.

Now, Tserriednich seemed to brim with stranger happiness, and its obscenity had grown creepier. He eyed Kurapika like he was a fellow fan of the painter and he so wanted to befriend him. "None taken. Yes, this is an authentic replica given be a close friend as a present. Beautiful, isn't it?"

"One of my favorites," Kuroro chipped in although he wasn't asked "Inspired by one of the greatest loss of the history, the Black Death."

"That painting is associated with more than that plague outbreak that claimed millions of lives. It depicts death by the hands of chaos, destruction, senseless fights, war. Given that my clan has died a pointless and cold death, I am not that into those genres of art."

"Me neither, but I'll admit that the style is captivating. There's a beauty in it despite the gore message it flaunts. And you know, I kind of believe that underneath the destruction lies something new. Something that one must be looking for to be complete. Like that."

"Kuroro-san, you seemed to have the eyes of an artist."

"I'm an enthusiast, you can say. I'm more on antique books, so is Kurapika, but of course I can't say no to rare relics, too."

Tserriednich curved his lips into a knowing smile. "I can see that," and turned to give Kurapika an appreciative beam that sent nasty chills to his spine.

"Say, Your Highness. May I know what your plans are should you win as the next new king of Kakin kingdom?"

"Wonderful question, Kuroro-san. Let me answer that quick and easy: I'll make the Kakin Kingdom a better place."

Yeah, right. Both Kuroro and Kurapika remained silent, waiting for Tserriednich to explain further.

"Triumph of Death expresses judgment among human race, an inevitable apocalypse that would dawn anytime, anywhere, and by the looks of how far we've come living our lives, the end wouldn't be easy on us. The world has undeniably been filled with all types of trash and as the next king, I'll take it upon myself to commence the segregation.

"The pathetic king in this painting is nothing but a greedy ball of ignorance: if he'd been an effective leader, the skeletons—the _Death_ —wouldn't come that close to his kingdom's shore. Look, he's even just in a corner of the painting, still about the gold and power even on the last breath of his life. A true king isn't just about wealth. Leading an entire nation requires top notch intelligence, a vast expanse of knowledge, a deep understanding of people to rule and dominate them. And as this might suggest that I am just some arrogant fool boasting around, amongst all the other princes, I possess all the qualities of the exact leader the nation needs because more than gold, a king should know how to appreciate _art_."

There was a pause—then a crisp, loud laughter punctured through the air. It was coming from Kuroro Lucifer.

Kurapika rolled his eyes to him, while Tserriednich looked offended. Seeing the change of his guards' mien, he held himself back and remarked. "Humans are just so fascinating, don't you think?"

"… Exactly my sentiments, Kuroro-san. Particularly the young ones. They are blessed with bright future, potentials that they bring about especially when confronted with extreme situations."

"This ship carried a lot of those potentials you are looking for, Your Highness. I know some personally," Kuroro chuckled and _squeezed_ his hand on Kurapika waist.

"And that's what makes this journey worthwhile. I'll get to have a good fight against my siblings while the humanity tries to broaden the scope of its territory. Survival of the fittest. A perfect subject for yet another priceless piece of art, and once I win the war and get back to our mainland along with the most powerful men who outlasted all odds and claim the Great Dark Continent, I won't just bring victory home: I'll create an everlasting masterpiece that will remind the human race of my greatness and change the world into a new one with me as the new god."

The fact that Kuroro Lucifer and Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou were actually getting along was disturbing enough: hearing this man's out of this world delusions and seeing the severity of his megalomania was making Kurapika feel like throwing up but all he could manage was to scoff yet again.

"Not only we have the same principles in life, we even share the same taste when it comes to passion," much to Kurapika's dismay, Kuroro slid his hand over his arm until it reached his hand, and there he slipped his fingers into Kurapika's and clasped their palms together.

Okay. That was it. Kurapika had enough of these harassments.

He retraced his hand back rather violently and pretended to reach for his phone. "My break is over. I have to go back," he peered at it, reading the time. It turned out to be true. "If you still want to talk then go on, have fun," Kurapika said in sarcasm and stood on his feet, curtly bowing to Tserriednich. "Thank you so much for your time, Your Highness. It was truly an honor."

"Ah, no. I'll go back with you. We can't overstay our welcome, you know. Thank you for inviting us over, Your Highness. It was fun," Kuroro bowed too.

"It certainly is," Tserriednich, to Kurapika's bewilderment, responded to their acts of respect with an offer of shake hands. He lent one hand to Kuroro. He gingerly took it, bowing his head again.

Kurapika held his breath when Tserriednich turned to him, one hand reaching out, face plastered with serene amusement. "It was nice to meet the two of you."

"Likewise, Your Highness," triumph sparked inside Kurapika. He took the offered hand with the softest clutch. It was good that his tolerance to Kuroro's so called drama play paid off or else he would make sure to throw him out of the Black Whale once they stepped out of Tserriednich's cabin. Wait, he should still do that whether the scheme worked out or not, right? As if he'd let the bastard go unscathed after stealing his— _heck_ —first kiss.

"Oh, and by the way. In case you guys want to have some sneaked quality together alone, my place is always open for you. Feel free to stop by anytime."

Kurapika took a deep intake of breath, faked a smile and shot a glare to an amused Kuroro. "I think more than looking for a place to do unspeakable things, someone here must learn how to control himself and hold back, right— _Kuroro_?"

Kuroro tagged along and scratched the back of his head petulantly. "Yes, boss."

"We wish you good luck with the succession war, Your Highness. We'll be taking our leave."

"See you around, sir. Have a good day," Kuroro bade then he and Kurapika started to walk to the twin door. It was opened by the guards and it closed behind them with a creaking thud.

The two of them were silent until they reached the boundary of Tserriednich's cabin. Once out of anyone's eyeshot, Kurapika swung a nen punch to Kuroro's face with a speed of a lightning.

Which Kuroro caught with his own hand like it was nothing.

"That's an oddball of a prince, don't you think?" Kuroro commented like he and Kurapika were sharing a peaceful coffee drink.

"You think so? I was under the impression that the two of you were having a good time chatting with each other back then," he pulled his hand out of Kuroro's grasp. "And so much for your game plan to use me as a bait and wait, with a pretense that we are _seeing_ each other of all things? I thought you can do better than that," Kurapika speared him the sharpest glare he could ever muster.

"You seemed to be more disoriented and unnerved than what I expected with what I did so I'll take a wild guess. That was your first kiss, wasn't it?"

Kurapika's angry blush kind of gave it away when it took time for him to work on a comeback.

"Oops. Sorry," Kuroro raised both hands in fake surrender. "But on the bright side, we both get what we wanted. You are now closer to Tserriednich and I learned how slack his security is. We passed his test, you know. It's a shame that we didn't get to see some more of his assets other than that replica painting but I guess there's a secret room in there where he hides his loots. Oh, and I'll have you know that should we find the Kuruta eyes before you do, it's considered ours."

"Too bad your chances aren't as fat as you think because as far as that prophecy told me, Tserriednich's cabin is empty."

"You mean… So I was really mentioned in you prophecy, huh?"

"The truce, the attempt to get inside Tserriednich's room, even that forsaken kiss. The prophecy's got it all covered."

"Er, nice?" Kuroro shrugged. "I told you it's the real deal."

"Who cares. The damage is done, however, and I won't waste time for you more than I already have but let me make one warning, Lucifer—"

With another quick lash of his hand, Kurapika summoned his Judgment Chain and threw its tip right straight to Kuroro's forehead, just some inches away from the bandaged cross-shaped tattoo, and stopped there. His Kuruta eyes were activated.

"One more trick like that and I'll make sure you'll be done for good. Get away from me."

"… Copy. I swear to avoid you from now on so I hope you do so too. Let's call it a day, shall we? Bye-bye. See you around. Oh, by the way," Kuroro conceitedly turned his back and left with a tinkle of his hand, leaving a comment that had Kurapika fuming behind him. "Nice soft lips you've got."

"Your Highness," Tserriednich's butler served a glass of whiskey to the prince. "Those two… were the first ever guests you let outside your abode alive."

"Interesting fellows, aren't they? They exceeded my expectations. But more than that… that Kuruta's eyes. They are so bright, so alive… more captivating than that defective one I have."

"But sir, don't you think you have said too much to them? They are no doubt a pair of highly capable fighters, particularly that man with the dark eyes."

"Why, are you underestimating my ability to gauge one's talents and capabilities? I know from the start that they are people I can't take easily. But we'll get to that, now that I've finally found what I've been searching for," Tserriednich gulped a swig of his whiskey and lowly, gradually contorted his face with a maniac's grin. "… The perfect canvass for my biggest art project ever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this ends my first ever entry for KuroKura Week 2016! It was truly fun (and stressful: December is the busiest month of the year and work is busy as hell!) and I really hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Oh, and as for a sequel?... Let's see. I originally planned to add a smut scene but dismissed it later coz it'll require time and more story development. But the option is still on the table, glaring venomously at me. Thanks for reading, happy holidays to everyone and enjoy KuroKura-ing!
> 
> Lovelots, Kusari.


	4. Baby Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Due to insistent public demand (and papaphinks' very impressive convincing powers and slave driving), here you are.
> 
> Beta: None.

Kurapika returned to Prince Woble's cabin shortly after his mind-bogging trip to Tserriednich's place with Kuroro Lucifer, still pretty shaken up with all that happened.

He immediately checked on Lady Oito and Prince Woble who were both resting in their bedroom. The prince was fast asleep in her cradle while her mother snuggled in her covers, a small frown was on her face, she seemed to be having trouble in her sleep. Kurapika didn't stay long and left to talk with his fellow bodyguard.

"I'm sorry for taking time. Things happened and I have to deal with them."

"It has something to do with your original mission, hasn't it?" Bill replied. Kurapika said nothing and gave a light shrug. "Alright, I won't go there."

"Thanks," Kurapika just smiled. "So, is there anything weird that happened while I'm away?"

"Everything is normal so far. Sairid is still tightly tied in the other room. No parasitic nen beast appeared. For such an ambush attack, they just disappeared as soon as they came up. Not that I'm complaining but man, I can't let my guard down at all," Bill sat on the couch and leaned before heaving a sigh and slumping his shoulders. "Damn it. We are now so outnumbered. I seriously am anxious of what to do once those freakish beasts come to visit again."

"And like I told you, you can still back out anytime. Patrolling Deck 2 is still on the table."

"And like I told you, hell no. Not now that we've lost almost all of our comrades. But really, what is our next move? We can't possibly request for new guards now. Not that I'm aware if we're allowed to take in new personnel due to our circumstances. I was waiting for you so I can ask the Royal Troops for back up, but really, I doubt if they will give us some, and if they are trustworthy..." Bill muttered, sleepiness was etched in his face.

"Even if they allow and provide us new guards, if they are not nen-users or worse, undercover assassins or working secretly for the higher ranking wives, it's useless. But I've been thinking..." Kurapika sat on the couch as well, leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs. Kuroro's prophecy gave him an idea. "You said that these parasitic nen beasts either protect their hosts or attack them. That they invoke their abilities on their own and the hosts don't necessarily have to be nen-users to control them... likely because they are uncontrollable to begin with."

Bill shot him an inquisitive look.

Kurapika resumed. "When we were briefing during our departure and Lady Oito kind of grew nervous, I felt a dark, strong aura that emanated from Prince Woble. I assumed it was nothing so I didn't give it much of a thought. Then she became frantic again before the nen beasts appeared. So I came up with a conclusion that not only when Prince Woble senses danger lurking around her, her nen beast awakens too when Lady Oito is disturbed and troubled."

"Now that is nice. Meaning not only we have to protect the prince, we also have to keep Lady Oito cool and calm so the beast won't kill us indiscriminately," Bill grimaced and shook his head.

"Yes, unless... we learn to control the beast," Kurapika said.

"Oh. That's one big talk over there. How are we supposed to control it? The host itself can't even see the thing. How can we handle it?"

"Nen reflects its wielder's emotions and state of mind. Given that these are parasitic type and they don't fall on any nen category except Manipulation and Specialization perhaps, the only way for us to communicate with them is through the host. Fuel the wielder with anger and the beast will wreak havoc. Calm him down and it will be tamed. It's one crazy talk but we have no choice. I get a feeling that these beasts are under experimentation anyway. The King doesn't only look at the visible abilities of the heirs, not the ranking or age. They are factors, yes, but I think the biggest criteria for judging here is how strong or weak the nen beast a prince would create, and how she or he would control it. It's just a hypothesis, but it's likely the closest to the truth."

"Okay, let's say you are correct. Now, how are we going to talk and mind control a baby?" Bill straightened up. "I mean, she doesn't even understand what's going on around her. She can't determine if one is an enemy or not."

"... Or so we thought. If Prince Woble is just another normal baby, I'll agree that it's impossible to control her. But back then when my explanation about the escape plan stressed Lady Oito, I felt the aura but it instantly disappeared when Her Highness calmed down. It didn't attack me either unlike Woody and the others who had ulterior motives. Somehow, it reads through your mind, your intention, and it doesn't act solely when Lady Oito is troubled and when someone is about to attack. Prince Woble is a prince after all, and a smart one at that. She must be getting what was happening around her, and she protects the one who protects her, namely Lady Oito who has the purest intention of keeping her safe. Maybe if we let her know that we wanted nothing but to protect her and her mother..."

"... She will protect us, too?" Bill finished it for him. "That is a way crazier talk."

"Well, that is what a King does. Protect his people. And all the princes are nurtured to think that way. It is in their blood."

"... It's not like we have any other choice, right? We won't lose anything if we try, anyway. Okay. What are we supposed to do?" Bill stood up.

"Have you ever had a chance to touch Prince Woble?"

"No. Not even the tip of her fingers."

"I once carried her with Lady Oito's consent. I will try and carry her again, talk to her, and see how it will go. You have to wait for Lady Oito to wake up and ask for permission later," Kurapika got to his feet, too, and walked towards the bedroom. "Call me right away if something comes up."

"Geez. How am I supposed to swear allegiance to a baby, anyway?"

"Just tell what you truly think and feel. It will come out naturally if your resolve is real," Kurapika advised then knocked on the door.

One of the assistants opened it up from inside. She let Kurapika in and he told her she could have some rest and he would watch over them in her stead. The woman was reluctant at first, but she complied anyway, explaining Kurapika how to milk feed the prince and she must be rocked very gently in case she woke up.

Once alone, Kurapika sat on a chair and rested his eyes, taking a light, power nap.

Around fifteen minutes later, he heard a small cry. He stood up and walked as silent as he could, milk bottle in hand, and approached Woble's cradle.

The baby was stirring up and starting to cry with tiny hiccups and wiggles of her small hands. Kurapika carefully reached for her, and as he had the girl in his arms, he noticed that Lady Oito was waking up, too.

"Kurapika?" Lady Oito squinted her eyes and was about to push herself up.

"It's okay, Your Highness. Please let me take care of the prince, you need some more sleep," Kurapika softly murmured.

Lady Oito seemed to want to get up and take Woble, but all she did was look at them as Kurapika continued to arrange his arms to carry the bundle properly. Woble's sobs were fading away, but she was awake, looking at Kurapika.

"She really likes you," Lady Oito smiled warmly at them.

"Oh, she has grown heavier than the last time I carried her," Kurapika peered down at the baby and smiled, too.

"Yes. It looks like she's taking the succession war lightly. I will leave her to you, then. Don't hesitate to wake me up if she started to wail," Lady Oito's eyes fluttered then closed, the smile on her face began to wear off as she drifted back to sleep.

Kurapika watched her, then looked back at Woble who unlike her mother, had her eyes wide open. Woble looked at him with her orbs twinkling and blinking, roving at every part of his face.

"Hello there," Kurapika started. "You are so cute, do you know that?" Woble continued to look at him, the way her gaze pinned on Kurapika felt like she was studying the person who was talking to her. "It must be tough for you, being burdened with a heavy responsibility at such a young age. Yeah, I know how that feels," Kurapika's smile widened. That bit was true. "You love your mama so much, right? That's why you got angry at me when I scared her the other day. I'm sorry for that, I didn't mean it. I used to have a mama, too. I love her so much but because of bad people, she's not with me anymore. And it's sad. And I don't want you to feel sad because it doesn't feel good. So I want to keep you and your mama safe so you can go home together."

Woble blinked at him some more. "Will you help me do that? In exchange, I promise to protect you with all my best," despite his hesitance, Kurapika altered his eyes into scarlet at peered back at Woble again. "I swear with my Kuruta blood."

Kurapika dreaded the baby would be terrified and cry, wiggle in his arms and sob in fear, but it surprised him when Woble began to chuckle and giggle, little hands reaching out for his cheeks, and when Kurapika gave her his finger, she clutched at it tightly, eyes still on his.

Relief washed over him, and it was coupled with happiness. His scarlet eyes usually either made people scared or obsessed with them whenever they saw them. But this tiny little fellow here just appreciated them and even made her laugh, made her reach out and trust. He sighed and hugged her closer to his chest. Just above her head, he whispered.

"Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S.: This is going to be my very first time to write an aimless fanfiction. Meaning, I have no concrete plan or development in store for building up the story line. I've read the reviews and you guys seem to think that this is plausibly a potential multi-chaptered work and upon re-reading it, I got what you mean, so here I am. Much to my own surprise, I had fun writing this in one go without worrying about how the future chapters should go. So please bear in mind that I'm just writing whatever comes into my head with pen on hand. Expect OOC-ness but I'll try must best to keep them in character as I can. I hope you enjoyed!


	5. Visitors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NO. I'm having neither any of Kurapika's suicidal nor Kuroro's homicidal tendencies in the latest manga chapters. 2017 was bad enough. What we all need is a dorky!Kuroro and a grumpy!Kurapika. I had 3-days long holiday vacation so I took the chance and wrote whatever came into my mind and really, this was frigging so funny to work on that I can imagine what I wanna do in the next chapters. Here you are, guys. Happy New Year!
> 
> P.S.: It feels kinda horrible in my writer ego to copy the lines directly from some pages of the latest chapters, so I tinkled and rephrased some words to feel less guilty about it.

Problems after problems trickled down their way as soon as Kurapika stepped out of the queen's sleeping quarters.

 

He wanted to phone Senritsu and Leorio about Kuroro Lucifer and Genei Ryodan being on board with them in the Black Whale, but all of the phones were controlled and monitored by the King's Army, while the wireless phones used by bodyguards, including his own, had their channels fixed, making any attempt to contact them very risky.

 

Next was the memo they received from the King's army saying that they would deploy a Royal Bodyguard from the first prince's private troop to 'help defend the fourteenth prince and her mother' which sounded fishy in more ways than one. It was more than obvious that Prince Benjamin was just sending out spies in a guise of reinforcements, and they couldn't do anything about it given their low rank.

 

Oh, and turn that excuse of a Royal Bodyguard to be an assassin who used his right to defend himself in plotting ways to kill his employers. The scum already started with one of the remaining, defenseless maids (which pissed him off even more: they were so damn outnumbered here and there was the first prince was, chucking out another one of them).

 

Sandra fell lifelessly on the floor, face stricken with fear and shock with how she was stabbed, her body convulsed before hitching her final breath. Kurapika was about to counter attack when Royal Bodyguard Vincent raised his gun and warned him about the consequences if he came any closer. Left with no choice, he lifted both of his hands in surrender.

 

Prince Woble was wailing loudly and flailing around her mother's arms, disturbed by the presence of the intruder. Vincent was babbling about asking for _'cooperation,'_ a discreet offer of turning his back to the prince and queen to avoid getting killed just like what happened to Sandra. How he wanted to tell the scum to go to hell as he secretly summoned Steal Chain.

 

"No matter what happens to us," Kurapika removed his contact lenses with his free hand. "We will protect you. That is why we are here," he turned to the queen and the prince. "Will you trust me, Prince Woble, Queen Oito?"

 

As soon as Queen Oito declared her trust to him with Prince Woble's approval, he sent his Steal Chain to her and transferred Sairid's _'Little Eye'_ nen ability, making her see Stealth Dolphin (which didn't scare her, to his relief) who began explaining about how she and Kurapika could have telepathic conversation. While he constructed his mind-to-mind communication with her, Bill moved to attack Vincent which distracted him, giving Kurapika an opening for his Steal Chain to contact to his leg and drain his nen aura. Bill took the chance to throw him off his balance and successfully brought him down.

 

"For your attempt assassination of the Fourteenth Prince Woble, I am hereby restraining you," Kurapika stepped into Vincent's hand and he lost hold of his gun.

 

Vincent denied his accusation, but as Queen Oito stated that she was willing to testify against him and Kurapika added that he could force him to confess, he was visibly alarmed and he knew right then that there would be no way out of it once the queen stood in the ship court's stand.

 

With the remaining physical strength he had, Vincent twisted his hand out of the restraint of Kurapika's foot, reached for his gun then swiftly swung it to aim a shot towards the prince. Kurapika was about to knock the gun out of Vincent's hand again when he caught a sight of pointed objects flying towards him. Vincent stopped midway, stayed still before his arm limply fell with his eyes wide open.

 

Over his head were two ballpoint pens sunk fairly deep, blood began to ooze out of his skull. Instantaneously, he turned to the direction where the pens came from.

 

"Who.. are you?" Bill lifted his head and cast his gaze towards the door, while Kurapika did the same but unlike Bill who wore a baffled expression, had his brows knitted in anger and scarlet eyes glowing brighter.

 

"You..." Kurapika moved his gun from the dead bodyguard to the new trespasser in their room. "What do you think you're doing here, bastard?"

 

"You know him, Kurapika?" Bill looked up at him, seemingly confused even more.

 

"Yes, unfortunately."

 

Still donning his formal clothes and bandage around his forehead, with one hand holding unused pens and face blank like the usual, the Genei Ryodan head pocketed his unconventional weapons, stood straight and gave a little bow of respect.

 

"Good day, Your Highness. Kuroro Lucifer here at your service."

 

* * *

 

Kurapika's already preoccupied mind buzzed even more at the sight of the new enemy barging into their quarters. Forget about Vincent: this bastard could shoot his pens to take them down if he wanted to and compared to the scum now lying on the ground, he posed a bigger danger to his employers and he was harder to deal with.

 

Seriously, though. This whole debacle was eating away his energy than using Emperor Time.

 

"Who are you, mister? And why did you come here? You don't look like a bodyguard to me..." it was Queen Oito who asked Lucifer this time.

 

"I heard noises coming from here, and the door was open so I decided to check. Turns out it's a good timing, seeing you seemed to be in a pinch," there was Kuroro's carefree demeanor again.

 

Alright, this was no time to get neither enraged nor panic. One problem at a time. He shot Kuroro a piercing glare to beckon him to shut up, studied Vincent's corpse closely to verify his death, but found an odd device sticking in his ear instead.

 

"Please get in contact with the Royal Army," he told Shimano, the remaining maid.

 

"Wait, you'll hand him over just like that? What about his confession?" Bill raised.

 

Kurapika crouched down and placed a finger above his lips, all the while keeping his peripheral vision in Lucifer. "I know. Indeed, it's unfortunate... but this isn't a case that will get wrapped up in the ship court alone. And it's not like we can have the mastermind immediately arrested even if he confessed."

 

He pointed at Vincent's left ear. "Consider the risks we'll have to face if Queen Oito appears in court. The first prince's camp is watching over us, then might as well we don't make any moves for now."

 

Kurapika heard a low whistle and it was coming from Kuroro, still standing by the door and giving him a tiny smile that said he was impressed. He narrowed his gaze to him before focusing back to Vincent's corpse. He pulled out the device from his ear, crushed it under his foot, before helping Bill move the corpse to a side.

 

Once out of the way, Kurapika straightened up and looked at Kuroro, eyes calculating and fierce. Kuroro didn't make any movement: he stood rooted on the spot as if waiting for a cue when to move.

 

"Didn't I tell you to get away from me?" Kurapika growled.

 

"You don't expect me to do as you say, do you? I mean, I worked _hard_ just to get this close to the Royal Residential Area," Kuroro stressed the word, irking the hell out of Kurapika even more.

 

"And in case you forgot, not going to the ship's restricted areas is a part of our deal," Kurapika pointed his gun to Kuroro again even though he knew it was useless against him. "Unless you changed your mind and lifted the truce. I'm fine with that, really. I'm getting sick of holding back when it comes to you, anyway."

 

"Hold on, Kurapika," Queen Oito interrupted. "Who is this man? And what is your connection to him?"

 

"He'—"

 

"I'm his acquaintance, more or less. I mean no harm, Your Highness. Kurapika and I are just in a heated situation and he wants me so dead but it is a personal stuff so please consider it unimportant."

 

"And why do you want to get close to the Royal Residential Area?" Bill followed up, looking suspiciously at Kuroro.

 

"It's... a personal matter, too. I apologize but I can't answer that, either."

 

"Who is this guy, Kurapika?" Bill questioned him directly, one hand clutching for his gun because he saw Kuroro as an enemy, too.

 

Kurapika decided not to answer him, and turned to look at Kuroro eye to eye again. "What do you want from us?"

 

"Alright, let's get straight to the point: I'm in need of a valid reason to be legitimately allowed to move around the Residential Area and a place to stay while I'm here, while you appeared to be short in manpower and your door was open so long story short, I'd like to apply for being a bodyguard, if there is a vacancy."

 

Should Kuroro didn't give him a Lovely Ghost Writing prophecy as a freebie from their truce and he sputtered that crap in his face, Kurapika would think that either Lucifer or he was getting a bit funny in the head. Kuroro must have been expecting him to react very violently at his suggestion before kicking his ass out of their quarters but Kurapika could only manage a sardonic, brief chuckle and a shake of head.

 

"Over my dead body, Lucifer. I'd rather work with a cockroach than to have you in my team."

 

"Kurapika."

 

Kurapika turned to his back and looked at Queen Oito who was giving him a hesitant stare.

 

"Let's... let's hear him out."

 

"Huh?" Kurapika stupidly asked. "Your Highness, you don't have the faintest idea how dangerous this bastard is. He's even worse than Vincent."

 

"Exactly. He's stronger and more dangerous than a Royal Bodyguard according to what you are implying yet he took our side and offered help. In any way you look at... we really have to add more people in our group. And he's an outsider, if I'm not mistaken—"

 

"He's Kuroro Lucifer," Kurapika interjected. "He's the leader of a group of Class S bandits. He steals and kills on a regular basis. He owes me big time and I've been spending almost all of my life trying to finish him off. He can kill us all anytime he wants, and I am certainly not going to work with him. Did I get everything right, bastard? Or you want to add up some more?" He snapped at Kuroro.

 

"Everything is right, but one-sided," the scumbag answered. "I sure can kill you easily but I'll gain nothing from doing so, so why should I? Also, I wonder if my background can be overlooked upon application. I mean, what counts is if the guard can protect the prince, right? And I'm a one-man army, and very willing to prove myself. Give me a go signal and I'll get rid of all the princes' guards without getting caught. Correct me if I'm wrong but all it takes for you guys is an approval from the queen and the Hunter Association and then I can be a plus one, isn't it?"

 

Oh, god. The bastard had the audacity to seriously add details up. This Kuroro Lucifer was really getting creepy because Kurapika could feel his skin crawling at how adamant he was in trying to join their troop, of how the last two lines of his prophecy kept popping out of his head, and how Kuroro's arguments made sense that Kurapika could somehow tell and see that it was _possible_.

 

" _Kurapika_ ," it was Stealth Dolphin. " _Do you wish to equip me with the stolen ability?_ "

 

" _Uhm, what should I do?_ " Queen Oito asked him right through his mind.

 

" _Please wait, Your Highness. Let me deal with Lucifer first. Stealth Dolphin, go standby for a while,_ " he mentally told them both. He turned back to Lucifer. "Don't make me repeat myself, bastard. Leave the Royal Residence at once."

 

Their phone suddenly rang. "Shimano, please answer the phone. Bill, see this bastard out of the door and make sure it's locked this time."

 

Kurapika was about to come closer to the queen when he noticed that she was giving Kuroro a very studying look. It turned out that Prince Woble was ogling at Kuroro, too, with one hand outstretched as if trying to reach out. At that, Kuroro gave the baby a charming smile and a small wave of hand.

 

"Oh, come on," he cringed. Even Prince Woble was giving him the thumbs up, literally!

 

"Sir," Shimano covered the receiver. "It's from the telephone switch board operator. A message saying that they want to speak to you."

 

“Who?”

 

“That's the thing: three people sent it at once. The First Prince Benjamin, the Third Prince Zhang Lei, and the Fifth Prince Tsubeppa. “

 

"Whoa, I didn't expect that you're that popular around here, Kurapika. Three high ranking princes calling you at once?" Kuroro threw a taunt to him, seeing how much all of the chaos was disorienting him.

 

"Normally," Queen Oito explained. "The proper protocol would be to respond to them from oldest to youngest. But in this case, the princes that get postponed will interpret it as a hostile act. And if the princes left waiting end up hanging up, that will be a declaration of war...."

 

Oh, great. Just so great.

 

The door buzzer rang next.

 

Kurapika didn't even have to check and see to figure out that Prince Benjamin just sent yet another assassin slash guard slash spy.

 

Three phone calls and two unwanted visitors. Whichever to be chosen first would be a matter of life and death. If Kurapika pissed off some deity in his previous life and was now having fun watching him getting cornered into shitty situations again and again, he didn't know. But what he did know was he was having none of it. They wanted to test how good his judgment and decision making skills were?

 

Challenge accepted.

 

"Kuroro," he'd start with this prick first. Emperor Time had time constraint, Kuroro was dogged to get a sideline job and he wanted him out of his sight so why not make use of him? "I don't know what your deal is and why the prince approves you but you'll never get near us until I give the ok. You're willing to show off, right? Complete this mission and you're in: get information about the other princes' nen beasts and report them before the day ends." There. That was a hard and impossible quest. A big joke in Kurapika's opinion. He was sure that Kuroro would fail, and then he'd be rid of him at last. "Without killing anybody, of course." He added.

 

"Roger," what the— Kuroro had the nerve to look excited? "Well then, I'll go ahead. We don't want the guy outside to see me, do we? May I use a room? Even a comfort room will do."

 

"Fine," Kurapika carelessly okayed while already busy surmising which prince should he answer first. "Shimano, ask the soldier waiting outside to please wait a moment and tell the switchboard operator to connect me to the first prince. Bill, lead Lucifer to the nearest room then keep watch on the soldier outside."

 

The two immediately did what they were told; Kurapika watched Bill and Kuroro get close to the entrance. When Kuroro disappeared to the door nearest to the entrance, Kurapika took the phone from Shimano.

 

"Hello?"

 

"This is a most exceptional honor, prioritizing me over the First Prince Benjamin," responded a male voice that wasn't Prince Benjamin's as far as Kurapika knew.

 

Kurapika's heart skipped a beat in realization.

 

_'It's Zhang Lei!?'_


End file.
